The Reading Chills
by Darkness Destruction
Summary: Tom Johnson loves to read horror stories. So much that he gets one a day from his library. But one day after Tom is struck by lightning, he finds out that everything he reads come true. And things only get worse when he finds out he's the main character!
1. Chapter 1

Their shoes squeaked as they made their way through the wet and slippery grass, walking counter-clockwise around the circular bog, studying its characteristics for a class project. The sky was gray, though there was not a cloud to be seen. The class was on a field trip, as the teachers had decided to give the students a sort of "hands-on" experience with the wetland, as it coincided with their current unit in science class.

Tom Johnson stared up at the sky, having a premonition, a feeling in his gut that something bad might happen today. While he walked lazily along the hidden path, his two best friends, Jack Blackwell and Dana Williams, were comparing lists of the characteristics they had found. Jack was insisting that his entry of listing the bog as "green" was alright, while Dana was telling him that their instructors had said to "be very specific", and that he should list it as "forest green".

"What do you think, Tom?" Jack asked him, giving him a look that signified to Tom that he should lean toward Jack's side of the argument.

"Well...", Tom replied, his voice trailing off while he thought for a second. "I think you're both right. Jack, you're right in saying that the swamp is green, but then again, Dana's right on the hand that Mr. Turner and Mrs. Corinthos did tell us to be very specific."

Dana stuck her tounge out at Jack. Jack opened his mouth to make a rude reply, but thought better of it, and just sighed. Dana then turned to Tom.

"So, what have you got down?" She asked him interestedly.

Tom peered down at his list. The only characteristic that he had put down was "green", as he had not been paying much attention to the bog, but rather staring at the sky, trying to interpret why he felt something dreadful was to come.

"That's all you've got down?", Dana asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "That's not like you, Tom. Now you're being just as bad as Jack over here," she told him, slapping Jack on the back so hard that the wad of bubble gum he had been chewing went flying. Jack gave her a look of utter disgust, while Dana giggled in delight. She then turned to Tom again.

"Here," she said, handing him her list. "Copy mine. Just make sure that you put absolultely _everything _in your own words."

Tom saw to it, looking back and forth between Dana's list, being extra careful to re-arrange and change a few words here and there. He knew that Dana would rather stick her bare foot in a 200-degree oven then get caught cheating, for she was a straight-A student, and he knew that her parents would punish her for a _year _if she didn't keep up her record. Jack had often joked with Tom about Dana lying to everyone, that her parents were an excuse, and that she just wanted to be perfect.

Tom, however, believed her, and his guess was that Dana's parents would assume that if she wasn't able to keep up her record that year, then she was slacking off.

A bit later, they were back in class, chatting noisily about what they had experienced on the field trip. Tom was chatting with Jack and Dana, Jack solemnly swearing that he saw a deer. Dana was arguing with him, saying that a bog was not a deer's natural habitat. Jack continued to persist, while Tom watched. Sometimes he could just watch them argue, prefering not to get involved. However, this time was different. While watching them this time, he caught Tess Hanson staring at him several times out of the corner of his eye, not with a look of infatuation, but a studying look, as if he were a lab rat in a maze, and she was waiting to find out what he would do. However, every time he turned to her, she whipped her head back around, pretending to study the chalkboard.

Tom sat near the window. It was storming outside, the clouds a near shade of black. It was pouring heavily, and Tom was enjoying it. He loves storms. At least, he did then.

When I interviewed him to write this book, he told me that he still, to this day, does not know how it happened. He heard multiple cracks of thunder, each of them coming closer and closer to the window. Then, when he turned around to see what was going on, he saw a quick streak of blue. He felt his hair stand out on end, and he knew that he had been struck. He screamed. His vision became blurred, everything flashing blue. Then, he felt it end, and hearing the frightened and utterly horrified shrieks of his classmates, everything faded to black...


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back, and I've got Chapter 2 with me. The reason that it took so long was because I thought people didn't like this story. Apparently I was wrong though. Well, here's Chapter 2.

I heard Mr. Turner yell my name, along with the screams and gasps of my classmates.

"Mr. Johnson, are you okay?" Mr. Turner asked frantically.

The shock slowly ended. I could feel my whole body go numb. I could feel my hair sticking straight out on end. I gazed warily and dazed around the room, at the startled and frightened expressions on my classmates' faces.

"Are you okay, man?" I could feel a strong grip on my shoulder, and realized that it was Jack's hand.

"Yeah, I think it was just a mild shock," I said, my eyes slowly adjusting to the room, the flashes leaving them.

"Is there a need for an ambulance, Mr. Johnson?" Mr. Turner asked the question with an expression of worry on his face.

"No, no need," I answered quietly. "Just one thing. Could you move my desk away from the window?"

"You lucked out, Mr. Johnson," Mr. Turner said quietly, the worried expression slowly leaving his face. He grabbed the desk and lifted it all the way to the other side of the room. I then suddenly realized that I was holding something.

"Uh, man, your book's ruined," Jack said with a quiet look on his face. I looked at my book and realized that he was right. The book was charred black, the darkness covering at least 3/4ths of the cover. I took a look on the inside. The binding was torn and many of the pages were ripped.

"You're right, it's not even readable anymore," I said, sighing.

"I guess I'll just go check out another copy from the library," I muttered.

All day, kids were afraid to walk by me. I could hear them whispering every time I walked by. I kind of hated the way my classmates were avoiding me. After all, it had only been a mild shock. Why were they treating me like I was some kind of mutant. After school, I walked to the library. I didn't really want to tell Mom and Dad about the shock. I don't really like attention as much as other people do. Usually I'd rather be a member of a team rather than the captain. I don't know why, that's just the kind of person I am. I arrived at the library and checked out a copy that was in better condition than my torn, tattered, current one.

When I arrived home, I plopped down on my bed, and began to read from where I left off.

_The boy slowly climbed up the ladder into the upstairs bedroom to the old mansion. He stumbled through the window into the dark house. _

I blinked, and screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

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Hey there, guys! Sorry for not updating, I kinda forgot about this fic and I've been busy. But I'm almost done with everything, and this fic should be completed soon.

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Where was I? How did I get here? I was in a totally dark and dusty room with cracking floorboards.  
The smell of mothballs was slowly sweeping over me.  
I pinched myself. I felt the sharp little jab of pain.  
This wasn't a dream! Calm down... Calm down.

I began to panic as I couldn't remember my name. I nearly jumped out of my skin as the rotting, old door slammed against the wooden wall.

The dusty window was broken, as if a baseball had been hurled through it. Lightning flashed outside. I heard the rain pounding against the roof of the room. The cracks in the ceiling began to drip water. I then came to my senses, trying to keep cool, when I noticed once again, I had a book in my hand. I quickly flipped through it. The boy in the book hadn't been named! And I was in a dark dusty bedroom.

I began to panic once again as I realized that I was in the same settings that the book was. The boy moved to the door, twisting the knob, and entering the next room of the dark house. I suddenly got up from the bed, without controlling myself!

"Hey!" I shouted weakly. I twisted the knob of the door, and entered the next room of the house. I had no idea what was going on, but as I slowly came to my senses, I realized what I had read came true! I slammed the book shut.

If I was ever going to get out of here, I couldn't let myself be controlled by the book. I mean, who knew what would happen to the boy in the book. He might never escape!

I dropped the book to the floor and moved to the next room. It was a dark hallway, only the floor was visible. The floor was arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and it seemed to stretch on forever. I suddenly saw something move, over at the north end of the room.

I ran across the checkerboard tiles, stepping on the tiles two at a time. I was determined to find out where I was. And how I could get out. I then suddenly felt a whoosh of air, as I fell through a trapdoor. I landed on a hardwood floor. I felt a sharp pain as I landed on my arm. I slowly moved it, wincing a bit, to inspect the damage. I had a bruise, but that was all. I sighed, thankful that I hadn't broken it. I then moaned, as I realized I had left the book upstairs!

I instantly regretted it. I mean, what if the book had turned out with a happy ending. I then had to cope with the fact that I would probably never find out.


End file.
